


love (the kind you clean up with a mop and bucket)

by knox (booyouwhoran)



Series: i'm selfish, i'm obscene [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And Plot, Dr Leia Organa is a BAMF, M/M, Matt the radar technician makes an appearance as Matt the unsuspecting swim team member, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Snoke is in a creepy gang, The power of friendship, sorry Mum, the Millennium Falcon is Han's retro diner, the roller derby AU returns, this time with actual roller derby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2016-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-24 11:11:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6151774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booyouwhoran/pseuds/knox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You will not call the police.”</p><p>The group looked around at eachother confusedly.</p><p>“Is he trying to subliminally message us?” Finn whispered.</p><p>***** </p><p>Or, a continuation of the gratuitous diner AU (this time with added plot and the power of roller derby)</p>
            </blockquote>





	love (the kind you clean up with a mop and bucket)

**Author's Note:**

> This is part two of a series and it can be read as a stand alone but I would highly recommend reading part one (it's only like 1k words) before reading this one.
> 
> There is a description of a fight in this fic. While I don't think it is particularly graphic, please be aware of that while reading and let me know in the comments if you think I need to add any tags. 
> 
> Also, all of my roller derby knowledge comes from Whip It and Wikipedia, and for that I am so very sorry.

 

“Welcome to the State Roller Derby Grand Finals!” The announcer cried to thunderous applause.

“Tonight we have the three time champions, the First Order!”

Hux clapped a little at that, if purely because Phasma had a sixth sense about his supporting friend duties and he’d rather not face her patented Disappointed Face.

“But taking them to the task are new upstarts, the undefeated Resistance!”

Equally loud cheering erupted from half of the room. Hux slouched a little further down in his seat, allowing himself to relax after a stressful day spent with his family, which had primarily consisted of his father and older brother berating him about the law firm and his mother updating him on the family gossip. He pulled down the too big sweater Phasma had lent him (or rather, insisted he wear – “Hux, I will beat your skinny ass if you show up to my grand finals in slacks and a button up”) with the First Order logo on it.

Idly (or at least he told himself), he wondered when Kylo would be coming. He and Phasma had already seen Rey, and the two women had shook hands civilly. Rey must have noticed him looking for Kylo already, whispering to him conspiratorially that “Ben pretends he doesn’t care about these things but he 100% does. He’s even more competitive than me.” 

That had been twenty minutes ago, and now Phasma was with her team while he sat on a worryingly sticky auditorium seat. Hux hadn’t seen Kylo since the diner, though they had been texting almost constantly, which Phasma thought was hilarious for some reason. (“Come on Hux, last week you asked me what an emoji was! You still think lol means lots of love!”)

Hux considered texting Kylo to ask whether he was coming, but decided against it. He had already texted forty-five minutes ago, and god forbid he come across desperate. He resolutely ignored the small smile that involuntarily spread across his face when thinking about their conversations. Kylo was surprisingly funny, and pleasantly intelligent, even though he had a tendency towards acronyms that Hux had no idea how to interpret. After the fifth time he had to ask Phasma what something meant, she introduced him to the wonders of Urban Dictionary. He had had the tab open on his phone ever since. Kylo also used way more of those little picture things than necessary, but Hux had been willing to let it slide since Kylo promised to stop making fun of him for using full stops in texts.

(‘u text like an old man lol (skull emoji skull emoji skull emoji)’

‘There is nothing wrong with appreciating proper grammar, Kylo. Anyway, at least I don’t put unnecessary pictures of skulls after all my texts.’)

The thump of someone throwing themself into the seat next to him startled him more than he’d care to admit, and he had already started explaining that he was saving the seat for a friend when he realised who he was talking to. Kylo had a dark grey beanie jammed over his hair, even though it wasn’t nearly cold enough to warrant one. Hux’s eye roll was almost instantaneous as he took in the rest of his outfit – a t shirt with the Resistance logo, ripped black skinny jeans and dark converse.

“You look like one of those Fall Out Boys or whoever they are.”

Kylo looked at him like what he just said was ridiculous – Hux was loathe to admit that he had listened to some of the (many) youtube links Kylo had sent him of his favourite bands.

“Nice sweater,” was Kylo’s only reply. Hux blushed slightly, adjusting the wide collar where it had slid underneath his collarbone, and hoped fervently that Kylo hadn’t noticed him blushing. The smirk on the other man’s face indicated otherwise. 

Before Hux could retort, the announcer’s metallic twang cut through the air, signalling the start of the race. He and Kylo both craned their necks, looking down at Phasma and Rey shaking hands again. The First Order’s starting line up was good, Hux noted, with Mitaka starting as jammer and Phasma as the pivot. Kylo gestured to the Resistance’s opening line up, where Hux could identify Finn lining up already as a blocker.

“They’ve got Jess as their jammer – that’s a risky move, she’s faster than Rey but in the last round she got pushed over really badly. If she goes down again, she might not be able to finish,” Kylo explained. For someone who, according to his texts, only came to these things because Rey made him, he knew the team pretty well. It appeared that Rey was also playing pivot, something Hux was unsurprised by. She was obviously fast, and confident in the ring. It would be interesting to see her and Phasma go head to head, if it came to it.

The head referee blew a whistle and both teams were off, Mitaka and Jess both trying to get through the blockers to make lead jammer. Phasma and another First Order ‘trooper’, as they called themselves, were already walling up in front of Jess, allowing Mitaka to sneak in front by a margin. Quickly, he was through the pack, claiming lead jammer status. 

Hux hadn’t realised he was cheering until Kylo stamped his foot with a scowl, his face twisted up amusingly. He sought out Phasma, but she was already discussing strategy for the next jam.

Each jam became more and more intense, with both teams relying on increasingly risky tactics. Finn, at the head of the pack, grabbed Rey’s hand and flung her around the track, evening the team’s scores before the final round. By this point, Hux and Kylo had given up any sense of refinement, too caught up in the energy from the crowd. Kylo had lost his beanie at some point, and his hair was bobbing around wildly like a small furry animal. Both men collapsed back into his seat, when Hux noticed something odd in the centre of the arena.

“Look, Kylo, what’s Snoke doing?” 

The rarely-seen manager of the First Order was speaking to the biggest blocker on the team, who’s name Hux couldn’t be troubled to remember. Phasma didn’t seem to notice, caught up in an intense discussion with her teammates.

“Maybe he’s come up with a new play?” Kylo shrugged and took a slurp of his drank. Hux couldn’t help watching the way his soft, plump lips tugged at the straw. Shaking himself out of a very inappropriate fantasy for his best friend’s roller derby game, he glanced down to where the First Order’s final line up was getting ready. Suddenly, just as the head referee was about to blow his whistle, Snoke yanked one of the blockers out of the ring, and pushed the big guy in line. Phasma started gesticulating angrily, but the whistle cut through her protests. 

Phasma and Rey were neck and neck, each team resorting to their trickiest plays. Poe and Finn slammed in on either side of Mitaka, now playing blocker, destabilising him enough to knock him out of the ring. Rey had just passed Phasma, and was skating up to the final blocker, Snoke’s replacement. As she began to pass him, he kicked out in an illegal block, catching her ankle. While she stumbled, he elbowed her in the stomach in a blatant foul. Sliding across the floor, Rey looked small and hurt. Kylo had already leapt to his feet, pushing his way down the grandstand to the ring while Hux stared in shocked silence. Two referees were restraining Phasma, who had straight up punched the offending member of her team. Hux could hear her swearing at Snoke. 

“What the fuck was that! You just ruined our chances of winning with a fucking illegal move Snoke. That’s it. I’m sick of the way you treat us like machines. I QUIT.” 

Phasma’s final denouement was heightened by her shaking off the referees and skating over to where Jess and Finn were supporting Rey. Hux manoeuvred his way through the concerned throng of people, and jumped over the barrier. He took his designated place at Phasma’s right hand, reaching up to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. She was in the middle of apologising profusely to Rey while simultaneously swearing about Snoke, which Hux had to admit was impressive. Rey was now sitting by the side of the track, insisting she was fine. Kylo sat next to her, the worry evident on his face.

It made him look younger, softer, Hux observed. Two men were hurrying across the rink towards them, the taller one dragging the other by the hand. 

‘Rey!’ The first one cried, bending down to hold her close, while the other waited hesitantly. 

“Hey Uncle Wedge,” Kylo looked up at the man standing in front of him.

“Dad, Dad I’m fine, I promise,” Rey was insisting to her father, who Hux assumed to be Luke.

“Ben, did you see who did this?” Wedge bit out. “I’m going to punch that son-of-a-bitch”

“Pop, seriously, I’m fine!” No-one seemed to be listening to Rey’s claims. 

“Phasma already took care of that,” Kylo gestured to her. 

“I’m so sorry sir – it was an illegal move and one I certainly didn’t approve. Rey’s a great player.”

Phasma offered her hand to Wedge, who shook it grimly.

 

Luke was still sitting next to Rey, while a mix of First Order and Resistance players stood around her. Kylo strode over to Hux, eyes murderous.

“Did you see where Snoke went?”

 Hux glanced round furtively, uneasy at the thought of Kylo going after Snoke on his own. Kylo was an intimidating guy, but it was a well known fact that Snoke hung around with a creepy street gang, and as loathe as Hux was to admit it to himself, he would really rather not see Kylo hurt. 

“Fuck, nevermind, he’s gone,” Kylo muttered angrily.

“And who’s this?” Hux hadn’t seen Wedge approach them, but now that he was here he had no idea what to say.

“This is Hux. He’s a … friend?” Kylo’s answer came out more like a question, and Wedge raised his eyebrows knowingly in a way that made Hux’s stomach twist not altogether unpleasantly.

“I’m a friend of Phasma’s. Sorry about Rey, Sir. Snoke’s a jackass.” 

“Yes, I’m beginning to get that impression. Luke, honey, stop smothering Rey and come and meet Ben’s new friend!” 

Hux couldn’t help snickering at that, as if Kylo was an unruly toddler with social difficulties. The thought immediately after that, _‘that’s not too far from the truth, actually’_ made Hux snort out an actual laugh. Kylo’s glare only intensified his amusement.

 _What an odd night this has been_ , Hux thought to himself while shaking Luke’s hand. Rey was now upstanding, testing her weight on her ankle. 

“See, I told you all I was fine! I can still go to Poe’s right? I mean, we did just technically win the Grand Final.” 

Wedge and Luke shared a look of thinly veiled concern mixed with amusement at Rey’s insistences. 

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy, sirs,” Poe added, and honestly, who could say no to Poe? Luke sighed and shook his head. 

“Fine. But I’ll hold you to that Dameron.”

“Yes, sir.” Poe snapped a salute and swung his arm round Rey’s shoulders.

 

As Wedge and Luke left, Hux turned to see Rey and Jess enthusiastically lead Phasma out of the door. Phasma, who was his ride here.

 

Fuck.

 

Hux mentally started cataloguing the nearest bus station and route that would get him home, when Kylo interrupted him.

 “So, are you coming or not?”

 “What?”

 “The party. At Dameron’s. It’ll be fun, I swear.”

 “I didn’t think you knew what fun was.”

 Kylo rolled his eyes and elbowed him gently.

 “Seriously, you should come. I’ll drive you.”

 

Maybe it was the idea of actually getting to talk to Kylo again, or the thought of Phasma having one too many beers and doing her one-woman rendition of ‘You’re the One that I Want’ that cemented his decision.

 “Fine. But no My Physical Romance or whatever they’re called.”

 ***

The drive to Poe’s house was interesting. While Kylo wasn’t a bad driver, per se, he had the worst road rage Hux had ever seen. And Hux had been driven by Phasma on two hours of sleep and no coffee to the mall for Christmas shopping. 

“WHAT THE FUCK, Hux did you see that? PUT YOUR FUCKING INDICATORS ON, JESUS THEY’RE THERE FOR A REASON OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUSLY CUTTING ME OFF RIGHT NOW? SERIOUSLY?” 

This had all been leaving the carpark, so Hux quietly let go of his plan to actually have a decent conversation.

Luckily, Poe only lived twenty minutes away from the roller arena. As they pulled up in front of a classic two storey house, Hux was able to engage Kylo in something other than yelling. 

“Dameron’s parents are fine with having a bunch of drunk youths doing god knows what in their house?” 

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you just said youths,” Kylo cackled. At Hux’s unimpressed stare, he actually answered the question.

“Nah, his parents are both pilots. He has the house for like a week by himself. And Poe’s the kind of guy who’ll spend his savings on hiring a cleaning crew if things go apeshit.” 

They had made their way to the front door, where Hux could already hear the thumping of music. He swallowed uneasily. It had been embarrassingly long since he had been to one of these things, and he was becoming aware of the fact that he _literally had no idea how to dance_. Kylo looked at him confusedly, and, grabbing his hand, dragged him inside.

They were in what appeared to be an open space living room however all the furniture had been pushed to the side, leaving an open space. To Hux’s right, a guy Kylo had pointed out as Snap was manning a drinks table. Poe had appeared in front of them, Finn holding his hand and clutching a red cup. 

“Ben! Ben’s weird friend! Welcome to the party!” Poe clapped his hand on Kylo’s arm, and with a quiet “Let’s go, buddy,” to Finn, was off again.

It was then that Hux realised Kylo was still holding his hand. Kylo seemed to realise this too, and briskly marched over to the drinks table, grabbing them two beers. Hux craned his neck, looking for Phasma. What he found instead was his best friend with one arm around Rey and the other around Jess, clutching a beer in each hand as the two smaller girls laughed. Her short blonder hair was sticking up with sweat and god knows what else, and the silver unitard she wore to race in had a mysterious pink stain down the front. She was, clearly, hammered.

“HUX!” He winced as she dragged Rey and Jess along with her towards him and Kylo. “You came! It’s about time you loosened up.” She pointed at Kylo, “And if you’re doing the loosening, I swear I will kick your punk ass.” 

Rey was practically crying with laughter while Jess just looked bewildered. She nudged Phasma over towards the drinks table. 

“C’mon Phas, let’s go get another drink and leave Ben and Hux to do whatever the hell it is the do.” She winked at them. “Be safe kids! Poe has a stash of rubbers somewhere, but if you can’t find him he’s probably with Finn and I definitely would _not_ advise looking for them.” Her face wrinkled up at some repressed horror, and she let Phasma lead her to someone’s iPhone plugged into the speakers. 

If Hux had been in his right state of mind, he would have warned her not to let Phasma near anything that might have a Grease soundtrack, but as it were, he and Kylo were standing in a shared mortified silence. 

“oh, my god,” Kylo muttered quietly. “My family is the _worst._ ” 

“I’m going to throttle Phasma. Or I mean, I would if she wasn’t a giant.”

Kylo observed him. “You know, you’re not _that_ short.”

“I know, Kylo, I am 6”1,” Hux’s indignant sniff put his previous embarrassment out of mind. “But have you seen Phasma? Once, in our freshman year of high school, she took down the captain of the wrestling team.”

The event was now spoken of in hushed terms around the school, and Phasma had been revered as an icon for the rest of her schooling. Hux didn’t mention the fact that she had been defending him from some unpleasant comments from the same captain, and that she’d actually punched that guy for Hux. 

“I’m Phasma’s height.” It was now Kylo’s turn to look indignant. 

“Yes, but you slouch. And, I mean, look at you. All you wear are oversized black things. You’re probably as skinny as Rey.”

“Are you serious? I could be shredded under here.” 

At this point, an awkward looking blonde boy who had been observing them nudged Hux and said, “it’s true. Kylo Ren has an eight pack. Kylo Ren is shredded.” 

Kylo grinned smugly. “Thanks Matt. We were on swim team together,” he explained. 

Hux wasn’t sure what compelled him to do what he did next. Maybe it was the fact that during their conversation, he’d finished his beer. Maybe it was his odd, ever present need to piss Kylo off. Maybe it was simply the fact that he really wanted to touch Kylo’s supposed eight pack. 

He poked him, and surprised by the apparent hardness there, allowed himself to put one hand on Kylo’s abdomen. 

“ _What the fuck, Kylo,_ ” an incredulous whisper slipped out.

Kylo’s grin had widened annoyingly. 

“Told you. Shredded.” Kylo had finished his beer too, and he let his long arm hang around Hux’s narrower shoulders (damn it).

“And Hux, you’re, like. Small. Like not short. But like…dainty? Like, look here.” The arm that had been around Hux’s shoulders was replaced by a large, warm hand around his wrist. 

“See? You’re little. Little wrists, little waist.”

Hux now found himself with Kylo’s other hand gripping his waist. At some point Kylo had backed him up against his wall, hands still in place, restraining him. The effects of his beer had worn off, and now Hux was primarily focused on Kylo’s astonishing warmth. Kylo seemed to realise the extremely compromising situation he had put them in, and almost sheepishly dropped Hux’s wrist. The hand on his waist, however, lingered a few more seconds. As Hux looked up at Kylo through his eyelashes, the slightly taller man appeared to be on the edge of some internal cliff, some decision.

Whatever Kylo had been about to do, however, was interrupted by the instantly recognisable crash of a window being smashed. At the same time, Kylo turned in front of Hux protectively while Poe made his way through the throng of dancers to inspect the damage. Someone had switched off the music, creating a tense silence as Poe bent down to inspect the broken window.

“Hey, someone’s thrown a brick through the front window? What the-” 

Poe was cut off by another brick being thrown through the other window. A few party goers screamed and jumped back.

“I’m going to go see what this is all about. You guys stay here.”

“I’ll come with you,” Finn and Phasma answered in unison. Poe nodded grimly. 

“Fine. Not you, Rey. You’re injured.”

Rey glared at him. 

“Seriously, Rey. Luke will kill us if you get hurt again.” Kylo seemed as surprised by his interjection as everyone else. Hux followed him to where Finn, Poe and Phasma were standing by the door.

“I’ll come.”

Kylo looked over at Hux incredulously. Poe and Finn also looked shocked to see Hux standing in their little group. Only Phasma looked unsurprised. 

“Gentlemen, you’re looking at our high school’s dirtiest fighter.”

Hux didn’t think it was possible for Poe and Finn’s eyebrows to go any higher, yet there they were. Kylo just looked slightly put out, as if Hux not being able to take on Phasma meant that he couldn’t fight. 

Hux shrugged. “It’s hard being gay at military summer camp. You learn to fight with what you’ve got.” 

Poe and Finn nodded understandingly, while Kylo, for some reason, looked furious.

“C’mon, let’s go.” 

At Poe’s command, the five of them ventured outto see Snoke standing outside with a group of his cronies. Hux took a moment to roll his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation (seriously, was this weird old guy trying to crash a college party because he _lost a roller derby game_?). Snoke would look menacing, face distorted by a collection of scars from what he insisted was a knife fight. The effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that he was 5”2. 

“Snoke? Seriously? What the hell, man, you know we’re just going to call the police and make you pay for these windows,” Poe sighed. 

“You will not call the police.” 

The group looked around at eachother confusedly.

“Is he trying to subliminally message us?” Finn whispered. 

“You will not call the police, and Phasma, you will re-join the First Order. I have your contract here,” Snoke intoned.

“Like hell, jackass. Besides, that contract was only good for this season. I’m a law student, did you seriously expect me not to read your terms?” 

Snoke frowned at this, obviously having underestimated Phasma’s skills of common sense.

“So, can you guys just leave now? I feel like we’ve settled everything.” Poe turned back towards the house, the others following him, when one of Snoke’s men stupidly threw a glass bottle towards them. _A terrible throw_ , Hux thought, but at this point Phasma had charged towards the offender. Inexplicably, it had turned into a fist fight, which was so not what Hux had wanted tonight. One of the brutes was coming towards him, and, a little exasperatedly, Hux assumed his fighting stance. The guy lunged at him. _Really, no finesse,_ Hux’s inner monologue supplied as he kicked out, catching the guy’s knee. Easily, Hux knocked him forwards where he landed face first on the pavement.

When Hux was sure he was unconscious (and really, if Snoke was going to pick a fight, could he have at least chosen competent thugs?), he looked over to where Phasma had two men in headlocks. Poe and Finn were ganging up on one, who clearly didn’t have a chance. Kylo, however, appeared to be struggling, the scratches on his arms bleeding. An odd wave of protectiveness overcame Hux, an urge he promptly decided to deal with later.

 Kylo and his opponent were moving too quickly for Hux to intervene. He briefly considered jumping on the man’s back, but quickly disregarded that idea as the angle was too difficult. Kylo appeared to get the upper hand, catching a fist on the guy’s abdomen. The guy went down, and he stepped back. All too quickly, however, Hux saw a glimpse of metal reflected in the street light being pulled out of a hoodie.

 “Kylo, look out! He’s got a—“

 The thug acted quickly, slicing an unsuspecting Kylo from eyebrow to lip. He instantly fell down, clutching his bleeding face.

 “knife,” Hux finished mutely.

 Afterwards, when people asked, Hux found himself unable to account for what happened next. One minute he was watching Kylo collapse. The next, he was being restrained by Finn and Phasma, staring down at the bloody pulp of Kylo’s opponent’s face. An uneasy silence had descended upon the sreet.

 “See, I told you he was vicious,” Phasma joked, but her pale, drawn face suggested more pressing concerns. Hux realised slowly, as if waking from a dream, that she was holding his wrist in an iron grip. His hand was curled into a fist.

 “Guys? Guys, c’mon, Kylo needs help,” Rey’s frantic tone brought the world back into focus.

“Someone needs to get him to hospital, I’m calling the police,” Jess said shakily.

 “Hux, you should take him.”

 Rey’s suggestion surprised him. Hux raised an eyebrow on her, wiping his shaking, bruised knuckles discreetly on his jeans.

 “She’s right, Hux,” Finn agreed. “What you did to that guy – well, I don’t think we can claim that as self defense when the police get here.”

 Finn’s tone was non judgemental, bordering on sympathetic. Phasma and Poe nodded silently in agreement.

 “For the record? That was pretty cool, man. And, honestly, what sort of jackass pulls a knife on a _nineteen year old_. It’s gross. C’mon, you can use my car.” Poe pressed the keys of his old brown Sedan into Hux’s hand.

 “Now, don’t hurt my baby,” his tone was light but his warm eyes were still concerned. _Concerned about you,_ Hux’s monologue helpfully supplied. _And Kylo. These are his friends – your friends._

 Rey helped Kylo up from where she had been dabbing his face with a tea towel.

 “Drive safe, okay.” It didn’t take much for Hux to recognise a command when he saw it.

 Kylo still hadn’t said a word. Hux gave the others a brief nod, and Kylo followed him sedately to the car.

 “Hux, I,” Kylo started, just as Hux had begun to say “Kylo, I.”

 They both stopped and laughed quickly, uneasily. Hux gestured for Kylo to go as he put the car into gear.

 “That was pretty cool, what you did. Thanks.” 

Hux shrugged uncomfortably.

 “Kylo, he attacked you with a _knife_. That’s fucked up.”

 “Yeah, exactly Hux. He hit me with a knife and you still went after him. That was…brave. Kind of hot, too.” The last statement was muttered, and Hux couldn’t contain the small noise of disbelief that escaped him.

 “Okay, I’m just going to pretend that’s the concussion talking. Jesus, Kylo, only you would get turned on by a knife fight.”

Kylo’s grin in the dark was equal parts sheepish and predatory, though distorted by blood soaked tea towel still pressed across the wound.

“What can I say, I’m a man of simple tastes.”

 

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for all of five minutes, when Hux’s brain helpfully supplied him with a fact that made him feel sick.

“Kylo, you can’t fall asleep, okay. If you’re asleep, I’m going to be so pissed off.”

His eyes drifted off the road onto Kylo for a second, whose eyes were thankfully still open. 

“Hux, huh,” Kylo said quietly. Then, he began chuckling to himself. 

“Hux rhymes with sucks. Ha. Sucks.”

Hux’s eyeroll was involuntary as they pulled up outside the hospital’s emergency ward. 

“Alright Mr Comic Genius, let’s go.” If his tone was a little more fond than exasperated, well, Hux was counting on Kylo not picking up on it.

 They made their way slowly to the entrance of the hospital, Kylo still a little dizzy. As soon as the nurse on duty saw Kylo’s bleeding tea towel (which had a little print of kittens, Hux noticed) and Hux’s banged up fists (it had occurred to Hux that his face also probably looked a little worse for wear), she whisked them away to a private room immediately. Hux explained that he thought Kylo had a mild concussion, and the nurse after taking one look at his woozy eyes allowed Hux to provide her with details. After giving a brief outline of what happened, namely to Kylo’s face, and insisting multiple times that he was fine and didn’t need treatment, the nurse asked for Kylo’s name.

“He’s called Kylo Ren.”

The nurse looked slightly bewildered. 

“Oh wait, sorry, that’s a…nickname? His actual name is Ben Solo.”

 The nurse’s face went even whiter than Kylo’s.

 “Fuck,” she muttered softly. “I do not get paid enough for this.” And with that, practically ran out of the room, leaving Hux in silent confusion. Kylo appeared to be coming out of his concussion, and interrupted Hux’s thoughts with a frantic

 “Hux, wait what hospital are we at? Fuck, if we’re at-” he trailed off, horrified eyes focused on something behind Hux’s head, as if looking at a ghost.

 Hux turned around to see a short, angry looking woman in scrubs at the doorway, hair pulled into buns that for some reason reminded him of cinnamon rolls.

 “Ben Solo, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?” The woman cried, her voice an odd mix of consternation and concern.

 Hux heard Kylo whisper “Fuck” to himself before he replied sheepishly.

 “Uh, hi Mom.”

***

And so, that was how Hux met Dr Leia Organa, brilliant and terrifying in equal parts.

Hux had only been able to watch speechless as Leia began expertly cleaning Kylo up while he grumbled under his breath, arms crossed like a child having a tantrum and not someone who had just been in a vicious attack. 

Leia clucked her tongue. “Yes, these will need stitches. Ematt, can you get me a sterilised needle, thread and gauze please?” She addressed the young doctor standing by the doorway, who looked relieved at being dismissed. Hux envied him. As soon as the doctor was gone, Leia pulled Kylo into a bone crushing hug, which Hux saw Kylo relax into for a moment, allowing his forehead to collapse onto her shoulder. 

“What happened?” She asked, professional tone overwrought with concern.

Kylo explained, in stilted tones, about the party, and Snoke’s gatecrashers. As he continued, Leia’s face grew angrier and angrier. Catching a glimpse of her stormy expression, Kylo misinterpreted it as anger at him. 

“Really, mom, we just didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” 

Leia smoothed her expression into one of understanding, though Hux could still see the frustration in her brow. 

“I know, honey. But tell me how this,” she gestured to his scar, “happened.” 

For the first time since his mother arrived, Kylo glanced over at Hux. Leia seemed to suddenly realise that they weren’t alone, and looked over at Hux curiously. Unsure of what the protocol in this situation was, Hux gave them an awkward, un-Huxlike little wave.

“Uh, the guy I was fighting with was really vicious. I hit him in the stomach and he went down.” Kylo winced at the memory. It occurred to Hux, then, a little heartbreakingly, that Kylo might not actually like violence or fighting at all. 

“I thought he was done, and I looked away for a second to see how Poe and Finn were doing. And then he got me. With the knife.” 

Leia nodded, lips pressed together firmly. 

“Where is this piece of shit now?”

If Kylo was surprised by his mother’s language, he didn’t show it. He again glanced over to Hux. Leia took one glance at Hux’s face, and the black eye he could now feel forming. She let her gaze travel down to Hux’s own purple knuckles, which he had been surreptitiously trying to hide in Phasma’s now ruined jumper. 

Surprisingly, Leia offered him her hand, which he shook.

“Dr Leia Organa. And might I be so bold as to presume that you’re the mysterious man Kylo has been tweeting all week?” 

“Mo-om!” Kylo groaned, adding to his current state of perpetually annoyed teenager. “Besides, it’s texting. No one uses twitter,” he added, apparently unable to let this faux-pas slide. 

“I’m Hux. Kylo, uh, Ben’s friend. We met at your husband’s diner?” Hux wasn’t exactly sure why it came out as a question. He also wasn’t exactly sure why he and Kylo were sporting matching blushes.

Leia rolled her eyes, which had now acquired a knowing twinkle. 

“Well, thank you for defending my son, Hux. And you will let me look at those knuckles.” Hux recognised the command as the same one present in Rey’s voice, and inwardly let himself marvel at the idea of what the two could do if they set their minds to it. He found himself a little terrified. Dr Ematt returned with the materials, and promptly left again, leaving Hux unsure if he should do the same. Kylo seemed to notice his hesitation. 

“Stay.” It was supposed to be a command, but came out as a plea. Leia made no comment, just got to work on her son’s face. Hux slipped into a doze in the uncomfortable plastic chair as the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins for hours seemed to suddenly disappear. He was woken up from his nap by the felling of something cool being applied to his torn skin. Jolting up with a start, he realised Leia was applying some sort of antiseptic gel to his knuckles, bandaging them gently. Kylo watched intently, face now stitched up, gauze running along its length. When she finished, she gave the two boys a long look.

“Now, Ben, seeing as my shift has another four hours, and I just took an hour out of my time to see to you, I’m going to let Hux here drive you home.” 

She patted Hux’s knuckles in a way that seemed kindly, but Hux knew that it was silent message that if he hurt her son, she would probably scalp him. He swallowed uneasily.

Dr Organa paused at the doorway as she was leaving.

“And Ben? Tell your father what happened. You know he worries about you.”

 *** 

The drive home was quiet, when Kylo insisted that he pull over by the side of the road five minutes away from Poe’s house and get out of the car with him.

“Really, Kylo? Right now? Couldn’t you hold it till we get back to Dameron’s?”

Kylo turned to face him and, so gently that Hux almost didn’t believe it was happening, cupped his face in his large hands.

All of Hux’s subsequent protests died at his lips as he found himself looking up into Kylo’s warm eyes. _Kind of like cow eyes, but more emo_ , his inner monologue interjected. _Stop ruining the moment_ , he crossly told his inner monologue. Kylo was watching him in amusement, and gently ran a thumb across Hux’s bottom lip, wiping a way a flicker of dried blood.

The kiss was surprisingly tender, Kylo’s lips soft and gentle against his. Hux tasted a little bit of blood and gauze, laughing to himself silently as he allowed the joy he had been holding onto bubble up and fill his body with lightness.

Kylo’s hands had drifted down to his waist while Hux found his arms locked around the other man’s neck, pushing their bodies flush. Hux wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, and would’ve stayed if a loud HONK hadn’t snapped them out of it. They sprung apart as Poe’s old pick up pulled alongside them. Rey jumped out of the backseat, and promptly started ruffling Kylo’s hair as he tried to bat her away.

Phasma had materialised next to him. “Rey got a call from Dr Organa saying that you guys had left the hospital forty five minutes ago, so we came to investigate.” She didn’t comment on his ruffled hair, debauched lips or thoroughly ruined jumper, but her knowing smirk said it all as she punched him lightly on the arm.

“Hey!”

“You know that if he breaks your heart, I’ll fuck him up.” She gestured to where Poe and Rey were tag teaming Kylo. Poe had him in a headlock while Rey continued to mess up his hair, despite his laughing protests. Finn and Jess were watching in amusement while Poe’s corgi, BB-8 danced round their heels. 

Hux noted that the odd golden feeling hadn’t left him yet. Curiously, it had instead intensified. He took one last look at these people. _Friends_ his little voice suggested, and for once, he didn’t feel the need to correct it. 

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr at orgvnas.tumblr.com should you feel like screaming about things


End file.
